South Woodford nursery fails Ofsted inspection

A nursery’s standards have dramatically fallen, according to its latest Ofsted report, where they received the lowest rating available.

Rainbow Kids Nursery, Malmesbury Road in South Woodford, received the damning report after inspections were carried out on May 13.

The rating has slipped from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ in just two years since its last inspection.

Nursery staff were criticised for “failing to provide adequate supervision, lacking the skills to manage children's behaviour and possessing limited understanding of the nursery's safeguarding policies and procedures.”

Rainbow Kids Nursery states on its website: “Our aim is to give children a safe and happy environment where they can grow in confidence and independence in preparation not only for school, but for life.”

And its mission statement claims that the nursery offers “a broad range of inviting activities in a homely atmosphere in which children feel safe and secure.”

Yet some of the staff had not received Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, which "compromises children’s welfare and the care they receive".

The nursery and its equipment were described as dirty and the food offered unhealthy.

There are currently 36 children on the register, from the ages of one to eight, but the more vulnerable members receive, "no sensitive reassurance to help them to settle and cope with such a large and boisterous group."

The report states that both the individual and emotional needs of the children were not being met by the nursery.